Atlanta Falcons to part ways with Lionel Vital
By John Buhler
The Atlanta Falcons are going to part ways with former director of player personnel Lionel Vital after three seasons in that role with the NFL club.
According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, a source close to the Atlanta Falcons says that the NFL franchise is going to part ways with former director of player personnel Lionel Vital. Vital served in this capacity with the Atlanta Falcons for the last three seasons, with all three teams failing to make the NFC Playoffs.
Vital came to the Atlanta Falcons in 2008 as one of the first ever hires of general manager Thomas Dimitroff. He served as a national scout and had worked previously with Dimitroff with the New England Patriots and the Cleveland Browns organizations.
Owner Arthur Blank mentioned a few weeks ago that changes were going to happen to the Atlanta Falcons front office, but that general manager Thomas Dimitroff and assistant general manager Scott Pioli’s jobs were safe.
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Since Blank said that Atlanta was not going to fire either Dimitroff or Pioli, it seemed only a matter of time before the Atlanta Falcons let go the guy supposedly third in command in the front office in Lionel Vital. Vital has worked in front offices in the NFL for the last 25 years, so he’ll find another job hopefully sooner than later.
What Vital’s firing means for the Atlanta Falcons is that Arthur Blank doesn’t view either Thomas Dimitroff or Scott Pioli as the issue for why his professional football franchise hasn’t had a winning record since going 13-3 en route to an NFC Championship Game appearance in 2012.
There are certainly some more behind the scenes moves coming within the Atlanta front office, probably to provide great continuity and thus a better working relationship between Dimitroff and Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn.
The Atlanta Falcons finished in seventh place in the NFC and two games out of playoff contention with their 8-8 record in 2015. Atlanta was an incredibly streaky football team that won five straight to start the year, then promptly dropped eight of the last 11 games to finish at .500.
Blank will put his faith in his second year head coach Dan Quinn to hopefully get the Atlanta Falcons back into the NFC Playoffs in 2016, but the Falcons will have to navigate a more difficult schedule than the one they floundered in 2015.
With the NFC South, the AFC West, the NFC West, the Green Bay Packers, and the Philadelphia Eagles on 2016’s schedule for the Atlanta Falcons, there are no guarantees that the Dirty Birds can finish over .500 for the first time in four seasons to make the NFC Playoffs.
Next: Jonathan Allen: Atlanta Falcons draft profile
Perhaps orchestrating a handful of front office moves like the one involving Lionel Vital can help get the Atlanta Falcons a more complete football team that is ready to win in 2016. The Atlanta Falcons have the No. 17 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. Rise Up!